This invention relates to interactive television program guides, and more particularly, to an interactive television program guide system for determining user values for demographic categories such that the determined values can be utilized for specified uses, such as for targeting advertisements.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a viewer's television.
Interactive program guides are typically implemented on set-top boxes. Such program guides allow users to view television program listings in different display formats. For example, a user may instruct the program guide to display a grid of program listings organized in a channel-ordered or a time-ordered list. Users may also search and sort program listings by theme (e.g., movies, sports, etc.) or by title (i.e, alphabetically). A user may obtain additional information for a program by placing a highlight region on a desired program listing and pressing an “info” button. The user may purchase a pay program from the program guide by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing an “OK” button. Some systems allow the user to select a program for recording by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing a “record” button.
The user's interactions with the program guide are indicative of the user's interests. For example, if the user purchases a pay-per-view movie, making that purchase shows that the user is interested in movies of that type. Searching for program listings in the category “sports” indicates that the user is interested in sports. Although the user's interactions with the program guide indicate the user's interests, previously known program guide systems did not monitor or use this information.
In commonly-assigned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/034,939, filed Mar. 4, 1998, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, there is described a program guide system for determining a user's interests by monitoring the user's interactions with the program guide. The '939 application also describes utilizing the user's interests to present advertisements or to take actions in the program guide.
It would be desirable to be able to provide a systematic approach for categorizing user information into demographic categories that could then be used for specified purposes, such as for targeting advertisements or taking certain actions in the program guide. As used throughout in the present application, “demographic categories” means categories of user information, such as income, age, hobbies, etc., which serve as a basis for identification and selection. Advantages that would be offered by such a systematic approach include greater effectiveness and less cost in achieving a specified purpose. For example, to target advertisements, the use of demographic categories means more effective targeting of advertisements and consequently lower costs. Advertisers could select demographic categories to ensure that the advertisements target only those users who would most likely be interested in the products or services they offer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a program guide system which categorizes information obtained from a user's interaction with the program guide into demographic categories. Another object of the invention is to determine user values for the demographic categories. Still another object of the invention is to provide an interactive television program guide system which determines user values for the demographic categories such that advertisers can select specific demographic categories of significance to ensure that the products or services they offer will be targeted to those users who will most likely be interested in purchasing the products or services.